This article was the tipping point for me to actually sign up for Flattr. Will see how it goes.TechDirt was my 1st Flattr as it only seemed fair.

Flattr is just putting you money where your like is.

I think the comments are going to give me an insight to how people have reacted to similar economic change in the past - "paper money!?! never! how does that have any value? I'll continue to barter and carry my gold around thank you..."; "Tips! Why not just pay me a decent wage!" - "Shares! Forget about it, people want to own companies, not paper..." - "Copyright!?! Royalties!?! Forget about it, I will stick to my patron thank you very much" - "Give away the razor and charge for the blades!?! You crazy?" - "Free software? In-app purchases? Ain't no money in that."

Only time will tell if Flattr will work, but it is a step in the right direction - it may prove to only be the alpha, beta or 1.0 of what really takes off - or prove itself a worthy component of new economic reward systems we are yet to see.

The bottom line is that as we change the way we interact and engage the world, so does our valuation of those things around us, therefore, the way we reward or compensate needs to adjust as well. I'm sure there are thousands of economic degrees earnt on this premise alone.

Once/if the 1st individual or business earns a decent income from Flattr, it will be the tipping point for Flattr and it's potential foreseeable.